The present invention pertains to the field of user interfaces. More particularly, the present invention relates to a user interface for accessing interactive content using a set-top box.
Two important areas of technology in modern society are computers and television. Computer technology is the basis of one of the most widely used information resources in the world, the World-Wide Web (xe2x80x9cthe Webxe2x80x9d). The Web is a collection of formatted hypertext pages located on numerous computers around the world that are logically connected by the Internet. The Web has become a resource for information relating to almost any subject imaginable. Although advances in personal computers and web browser software have made the Web accessible to a large segment of the population, many people are uncomfortable using personal computers. In contrast, television is a technology with which most people are very familiar and comfortable. Therefore, it is desirable to enable people to receive information from the Internet, particularly the Web, on their television sets.
In addition, television broadcasters and sponsors may wish to notify viewers of when interactive content is available that is associated with a program or commercial (advertisement) they are currently viewing. For example, a sponsor may have a Web site from which viewers can obtain additional information on a product shown in a commercial they are watching. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an entertaining yet relatively unobtrusive way of notifying users when a television material they are viewing has interactive (Web) content associated with it and a way for the viewer to easily and immediately access that information using their television sets. It is further desirable to provide such features so that the user experiences relatively seamless transitions between viewing conventional television content and interactive (Web) content.
One aspect of the present invention is a method of generating a user interface. A television signal is received and images are displayed on a display device based on the television signal. In addition, it is determined whether secondary information, that is associated with the television signal, is available. If so, then a notification is displayed on the display device as the images are being displayed.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of generating a user interface in a processing system, in which an input window is initially displayed on a display device. The input window includes a number of icons located substantially adjacent to each other along a coordinate axis. A user input selecting one of the icons is received. In response to the user input, the input window is redisplayed so that at least one of the icons appears to be shifted in position along the coordinate axis. Information corresponding to the selected icon is then displayed adjacent to the selected icon along the coordinate axis.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of displaying information describing a state of communication of data between two processing systems. An object is displayed on a display device. The object has a first subset and a second subset. A visually perceivable change is caused upon the first portion of the object to indicate that a communication link has been established between the first and second processing systems, and a visually perceivable change is also caused upon the second portion of the object to indicate a degree of completeness of a communication between the first and second processing systems.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of generating a user interface, in which first window is displayed on a display device, and a second window is then displayed on the display device such that the first and second windows appear to move along a common axis.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of generating a user interface in a processing system that can be connected to a television set. The processing system is for enabling a user to access a wide area computer network using the television set as a display device. In the method, an input field is displayed in a first portion of a display area of the television set. The input field is for allowing the user to enter characters to specify a function of the processing system which the user wishes to access. A menu is also displayed in a second portion of the display area while the input field is displayed. The menu specifying functions of the processing system.
Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.